Regulation

With Coinbase seemingly on the verge of a court battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm has emphasized that the U.S. government’s hawkish approach to crypto regulation has “left a vacuum that other countries are eager to fill.’ The SEC issued Coinbase a wells notice on March 22 outlining that SEC staff

The White House released its annual economic report on March 20, and it dedicated an entire section to digital assets.  The authors should be commended for doing so. I largely agree with the report’s assessment that certain aspects of the digital asset ecosystem are causing problems for consumers, financial systems and the environment. However, as

A recent article surfaced alleging that Binance employees and volunteers were assisting Chinese users on how to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) and other security protocols.  However, speaking to Cointelegraph a spokesperson from Binance clarified that employees are “explicitly forbidden” from supporting users in circumventing any laws or policies. The spokesperson also said the company

Cathie Wood’s Investment Management firm Ark Invest has gone back to buying Coinbase shares again, just a day after the COIN’s stock price dipped amid news of its Wells notice.  On March 23, the firm purchased 268,928 Coinbase shares via its ARKK Innovation and ARKW Next Generation Internet exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are worth $17.88

Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has been charged with fraud by United States prosecutors in New York, just hours after he was reportedly arrested in Montenegro. The 31-year-old entrepreneur was charged with eight separate counts, including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud, according to a March 24 report from Bloomberg. What appears to be the

Centralized finance (CeFi) will continue to be an important avenue to drive the adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) services in the future, but regulatory considerations remain a significant part of the process. This was a key theme that emerged during a panel titled ‘How to Do CeFi Right – the Balance Between TradFi & DeFi?’

Australia-based crypto exchange Independent Reserve is looking at opportunities to set up shop in Hong Kong, as the city continues efforts to become a cryptocurrency hub.  Set to take effect in June, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released a proposed licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges on Feb. 20 in line with its

Crypto exchange Coinbase said it received a ‘Wells Notice’ from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission recommending the regulator take enforcement action. In a March 22 blog post, Coinbase said the “legal threat” could potentially target the exchange’s staking program Coinbase Earn, listed digital assets, its wallet, or Coinbase Prime services. A Wells Notice

The metaverse continues to be a hot topic in the Web3 space, as a group of industry professionals took to the Venus de Milo stage at Paris Blockchain Week 2023 to discuss the future of digital reality.  In the panel “Metaverse Regulation: Dos and Don’ts,” the group discussed how regulators around the world might interpret

Republican Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill to block the United States Federal Reserve from launching a “direct-to-consumer” central bank digital currency (CBDC). In a March 21 statement, Cruz said he introduced the bill to prevent the Fed from developing a retail CBDC “which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the

A bankruptcy judge overseeing the bankruptcy case for crypto lending platform Celsius Network has approved a settlement plan allowing custody account holders to get back 72.5% of their crypto holdings. In a March 21 hearing, United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn signed off on an agreement allowing Celsius custody account holders the right to receive

Australia’s prudential regulator has reportedly asked local banks to report on cryptocurrency transactions amid the ongoing contagion of Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) collapse. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has started requesting banks to declare their exposures to startups and crypto-related companies, the Australian Financial Review reported on March 21. The regulator has ordered banks

U.S. officials are reportedly studying ways to expand the current scope of deposit insurance that would guarantee all U.S. bank deposits should the current banking crisis worsen. The current deposit insurance cap under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stands at $250,000, however, following the collapse of several banks in March, there have been calls

A central bank digital currency (CBDC) can impact monetary policy by increasing money velocity, disintermediation, volatility of bank reserves, currency substitution and altered capital flows, even when it is not designed to do so, according to a study published by the International Monetary Fund. The unintended impact of a CBDC may be felt particularly acute

Crypto.com announced it has obtained a minimal viable product (MVP) preparatory license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This preparatory phase operations license came after the exchange obtained provisional approval from the Dubai regulator in 2022. In the preparatory stage, the MVP license allows the exchange to fulfill the conditions to operate within set

More than 80 virtual asset-related firms across Mainland China and foreign nations have expressed interest in establishing a presence in Hong Kong, amid efforts from the city to become a leading hub for Web3.  In a March 20 speech in Hong Kong, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christian Hui, stated that Hong

Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has announced the reorganization of the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets, known as Sunacrip in Spanish, according to a decree issued on March 17. A new board will lead the reorganization, headed by Anabel Pereira Fernández, a lawyer who served as president of the Fondo de Garantía de Depositos y Protección

Before crypto exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) got tied down around allegations of misappropriation of users’ funds, SBF was among the most influential crypto entrepreneurs. Long before FTX collapsed, an allegedly leaked email exchange with a top regulator shows SBF’s intent to get the exchange federally regulated. On May 28, 2022, nearly

Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) has granted millions of pounds in employee bonuses, just days after it was rescued by global banking giant HSBC for just 1 pound, according to unnamed sources. In a March 18 Sky News report citing unnamed sources, it was reported that payouts to SVB UK staff and senior executives

The lawyer representing crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in the ongoing FTX case will soon present a revised bail package to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York. The move comes after Kaplan expressed displeasure about SBF’s use of encrypted-messaging apps and virtual private network (VPN) services while out on bail. Legal